Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Reptiles > sick gecko & no one seems to know why

sick gecko & no one seems to know why

22 14:23:21

Question
The first sign was my gecko had shaky front legs & within a few days went into a coma state.  Sometimes we thought she was dead.  The vet took an X-ray & said he see's something not right with her spine & felt it was the start of MBD.  That is not possible as I always have calcium with D3 in a dish in her cage.  The x-ray did not show impaction or tumor.  Today on a Gecko forum someone said that it sounds like a head injury.  She did fall from a platform in her cage.  There was a slight opening between the platform & the glass that she fell between.  Down below was a stone castle hide.  This happened on 9/20 & on 9/30 I noticed she was quite right.  This is the only thing that makes sense to me.  How can I treat this injury?  We have been giving her a food supplement mixed with lots of different things (from Golden Gate Geckos) & we just started to mix calcium with water.  It take a very long time to feed her.  We put a drop on her lip & eventually she opens up & eats it.  Do you have any suggestions.  She is less than a year old.  She weighs 38g now but was up to 42g.  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Melissa, I can't comment on the possible head injury or any type of treatment for that, other then the supportive care that you are currently giving her. I would not rule out the calcium deficiency theory completely. Perhaps I misunderstood, but are you dusting her insects with calcium/D3 as well as providing the dish in the cage? Providing the dish of calcium is often recommended as extra insurance against deficiency but I have never seen it recommended as the sole way of providing calcium. Dusting and gut-loading the insects remains the primary method of adding calcium to the diet and insuring that they actually consume it. The food supplement you are giving may already have calcium/D3 in it (the vitamin D3 may be listed by the name cholecalciferol) but if it does not you may want to add a small amount.
If you have also been dusting her food regularly then the MBD theory seems less likely.
I'm sorry that I don't have more insight into this. Hats off to you for taking her to the vet and I hope she is able to make a full recovery.